The Equalizer 2 is restorative

This story starts off with Robert on a train to Istanbul. He is still reading but now in full-on disguise. In the first movie, he used a baseball cap or nothing but this is different.

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His presence on the train is focused on rescuing a kidnapped child (Rhys Olivia Cote)from her father (Adam Karst) to return her to her mother, Grace(Tamara Hickey).

In line with his character, he gave the father a chance to do the right thing as he said that he would make the choice between the pain that hurts and the pain that alters. The father took his daughter from her mother to punish her and he was given this opportunity to do the right thing.

We return to America and see Grace reunited with her child but confused as to how it happened. Similar to the first movie, we see the effect of Robert's actions and the joy it brings to the people he anonymously helps.

He now works as a Lyft driver meeting and helping all kinds of people. This is a more hands-on approach to protecting others. He also has a new group of people he's around him due to his move.

With this new format, he works to protect others with the help of Susan. He saves Samuel(Orson Bean), Amy(Caroline Day), Grace, Susan(Melissa Leo) and Miles(Ashton Sanders).

We see the difference between him and others as he is more concerned with the story and background of the people he gets involved with unlike Resnik (Jonathan Scarfe)who killed the couple in the Brussels home. The Calberts (Antoine de Lartigue and Abigail Marlowe)were murdered and when Mr.Calbert asked Resnik why it was happening he said, 'I got your name on a piece of paper in my pocket. It's all that matters'.

Robert saves Miles from becoming a gangster. Miles considered avenging his dead brother for his murder but Robert gave him a chance to make the right choice.

Robert faces his former CIA partner, Dave (Pedro Pascal) to avenge Susan's murder. His path had changed. He, Resnik, Ari (Kazy Tauginas) and Kovac (Garrett Golden)believed private work was more beneficial after they were abandoned by the agency. Dave said, 'Mac, there are no good and bad people anymore. No. No enemies. Just unfortunates'.

They head to Robert's hometown and utilize the storm for battle. The final battle is in the rain similar to the previous movie.

Robert kills them as he promised, returns to his home as Susan told him to, and took care of Miles before Miles headed back to focus on school. We return to see Robert calm at his home as the movie ends.

Side-note:

• He is still wearing his wedding band. He instills hope in people as he drives them and shares their happiness as well. He's a people person despite his solitude. As a Lyft driver, he sees people's successes and tribulations.
• As Robert visits the bookstore, we see that the daughter he saved was the bookstore owner's child. She remembered him but they agreed to not say anything to Grace. We learn that he is on his 100th book now and she is changing her mind about selling the bookstore since there has been a change in circumstances. She doesn't know Robert helped but he's happy to see them together and to see that what he did paid off.
• We see Susan again and she's more involved with his mission now. She came to see him on his late wife, Vivianne's (they changed the spelling?) birthday where they caught up. We get to see that Robert remembers her well and fondly too.
• We learn more about him through Susan who jokes saying she's the only friend he has. She also says, 'It's great, you helping all these random people and everything but it's not gonna fill that hole in your heart'. She tells him to go home and make peace with things. She feels it would be good and probably would be what Vivianne would have wanted.
• Susan is working for the agency again. She jokes with Robert saying that she's as retired as he is dead.
• He got justice for Amy-an intern that was raped and who he drove, Sam-a painter that lost the rights to his painting of his sister Magda and who he drove, Grace- who's daughter was kidnapped by the father to punish her and whose bookstore he frequents, Miles-a student that spent more time on street corners instead of school, and Susan-his dear friend who was killed before she uncovered a truth.

• It's so sad because he helps random people but the people close to him get hurt similar to other vigilantes in general. He said that, 'There are two kinds of pain in this world. Pain that hurts, Pain that alters' but the pain that hurts often alters too which helps motivate and strengthen the vigilante as sad as it is.
• He didn't get to mourn Susan but decided to avenge her murder. This might be similar to him not mourning Vivian which could be the reason he doesn't have peace being at home.
• Wait, he died and used his same name to live another life? Because Susan, Dave and everyone that knew him then call him Robert and/or Mac still.
• He doesn't clear the bodies? Because he's taken out quite a number of people to not have things in order. The east coast men of Vladimir Pushkin(not cleared), Teddy and his men (they had to be cleared, right? It didn't seem to be on the news from what was shown to us. It's not important either but I'm saying), the men on the train to Istanbul, the guy that wanted to kill him in the car…oh okay, he burnt him actually. The fight scene in the car was great.
• Robert helped Miles realize he did not need or truly want to be in that gang anyway. He said that he has no real excuse to not try and do things the right way. He calls the gang liars who could turn against him or abandon him if things take a turn.
• Miles asks why him and instantaneously Robert said why not him, he asks again and Robert said they could find out together. Miles makes the choice to step away from them and continues hanging around Robert or Mr.Mccall as he says. It was wonderful that he did this for Miles.
• Miles offers to do a paint job for him in his place for $115 after joking that he would do it for the food he was making (Arroz con pollo)but Robert says that if he reads, Ta-Nehisi Coates' 'Between the World and Me' then they had a deal. He still had boundaries with Miles despite helping him out.
• Dave and Robert were partners. Their saying of 'same mud, same blood' shows how close they were or were thought to be. I thought it was interesting to depict that closeness while having the fact that he didn't reveal the truth of his fake death to Dave.

• Dave killed Susan because she was going to discover the truth about the people that were in the room to kill the Calberts as well as find out the truth about the Brussels contract being a deep agency asset. He does not believe in the righteousness that Robert has because he believes one day you're an asset and the next you're an afterthought after being trained to kill people and work in a dangerous world. He believed his private work is only a natural evolution of things and said it's not only him but others from the agency as well.
• They all gather to let Robert know that Susan's death was not personal. He says that he doesn't care what they become but many times people do bad things and sometimes it goes unpunished but this won't be one of those times. He said that they made a mistake killing his friend and he's going to kill them and sadly do it all once. He then asks Dave's wife, Carol (Karen Strong) for a lift to the train station saying Dave said he could. He is allowed and he is given Alice(Elena Capaldi) to join in the car with. This was messed up but a power move. He's showing the guys that he has the power to do things like get close to people such as Dave's family (giving them the possible death of your family fear) but wouldn't do that because he's not evil and they have nothing to do with things. He leaves after smiling and doing the finger guns at them. He carried Alice into the car saying he'll see them at work.
• The guys seem to be doing well and appear rich from the jobs they've been doing especially from the cars they drive.
• I was so happy Brian made it out alright. He's been supportive, unproblematic, and he's still mourning.
• They have used the word, 'agency' so many times and 'military' a few times. What are they under, who did they work for? The Netflix description says, 'EX-CIA agent-turned-vigilante' to describe Robert.
• Oh, it was the Army, or the Army then the CIA? His uniform was in the secret room Miles hid in and they mentioned the army when talking to Carol.
• We learn a bit more about Vivian, she had a bakery in their town.
• In a GQ interview, Pedro Pascal spoke about the eyes gouging-out method of combat in his fight scene with Denzel Washington. He stated that it was notable for his Game of Thrones character (Oberyn Martell)when he did that, so this felt almost in reference to that.
• Robert killed Dave with a familiar emotionless glare. It shows his anger but also his calmness as if he feels so angry he feels nothing. He killed Dave who said that he couldn't save Vivian or Susan and he wouldn't save Miles who got tied into this.
• I kind of felt bad for Carol, Molly (Marley Dauphin)and Alice as Dave died.

• Robert is asked once again who he is and he didn't answer Miles. Miles' bleeding stopped and they sit to watch the storm outside.
• Miles goes back to school and is drawing. He's working on a superhero character, seemingly based on Mr.McCall. Miles painted the most beautiful mural on the walls of their building still using the logo of his late brother. His brother's murder was sad and a depiction of the uselessness of certain actions. He lost his life because some people wanted his gym bag. He was a great boxer unaffiliated with any gangs or trouble but died this way. Miles seemingly moved as the quote on the mural said, 'I leave you the best of myself'.
• Sam is reunited with his sister, Magda.
• Robert is seemingly at peace in his home. He did not go back to his apartment but he was with the 5 apples he prepped at his flat. I am unsure of the significance of that, maybe to show that he's present there to take care of them? He was going to do a sixth one but I don't know if it means anything or if it was just apples on a table.

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